Matthew S. Blumenthal (born January 30, 1986) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 147th district in Fairfield County.

Early life and education

Blumenthal was born in Stamford and raised in nearby Greenwich. He is the eldest son of United States Senator Richard Blumenthal. He graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Career

He practices law for the firm Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder and is a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He served a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a part of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

. In 2018, Blumenthal was elected in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

on November 6, winning 59 percent of the vote over 41 percent of Republican candidate Anzelmo Graziosi, a Democrat who switched parties after Blumenthal announced his candidacy and succeeding

William Tong William Morten Tong (born May 2, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 25th and current Attorney General of Connecticut. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Tong attended Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School. He b ...

, who vacated the seat for his successful

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

. In 2020, Blumenthal was re-elected, defeating Dan Maymin 62 percent to 38 percent. Two years later, he cosponsored

House Bill 5414 House Bill 5414, passed by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed into law by that U.S. state's Governor, Ned Lamont, on May 5, 2022, as the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, is intended to protect abortion in the state and expand the pr ...

, along with Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, with whom he had cofounded the General Assembly's Reproductive Freedom Caucus that year. The bill, signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont shortly after passage as the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, was a response to the

Texas Heartbeat Act The Texas Heartbeat Act, Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), is an act of the Texas Legislature that bans abortion after the detection of embryonic or fetal cardiac activity, which normally occurs after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law took effect ...

and similar legislation passed in other states to restrict abortion access in anticipation of the Supreme Court's ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...

'' decision, which overruled ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'', and held that there is no constitutional right to abortion, allowing states to ban it outright, as several did in its immediate aftermath. It allows those who provide or facilitate the provision of abortions in Connecticut and are sued under laws like that in Texas to countersue in Connecticut for equivalent damages, prevents the state and its courts from assisting in the investigation or prosecutions of any abortions in other states that would be legal in Connecticut, or extraditing Connecticut residents charged in other states for such acts. It also expands abortion services available in Connecticut by allowing certain non-physicians to perform

suction Suction is the colloquial term to describe the air pressure differential between areas. Removing air from a space results in a pressure differential. Suction pressure is therefore limited by external air pressure. Even a perfect vacuum cannot ...

and

medication abortion A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenthal, Matt Blumenthal, Matt Living people 21st-century American politicians American people of German-Jewish descent Jewish American state legislators in Connecticut 1986 births Harvard College alumni Wien family Yale Law School alumni Connecticut lawyers Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut People from Greenwich, Connecticut United States Marine Corps reservists 21st-century American Jews